Poseidon
In Greek mythology, Poseidon (Greek: Ποσειδων) is the Olympian god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses. His most sacred is the trident and his sacred animals are the horse, the bull, and the dolphin. His chariot is pulled by hippocamps. Poseidon is one of the sons of Cronus and Rhea and, thus, is the brother of Zeus, Hades, Demeter, Hera, and Hestia. In Roman mythology, Poseidon is closely equated with the god Neptune. Mythology Birth and Titanomachy Poseidon was the second son of Cronus and Rhea. He was swallowed by Cronus at birth but was later saved by his brother Zeus. After being saved, Poseidon and his other siblings rebelled against the Titans. Eventually, the Titans were defeated and imprisoned within Tartarus. During the war, the Cyclopes were responsible for the forging of Poseidon's trident, which would become his most notable attribute and preferred weapon. With it, he can cause earthquakes and storms. Athens Both Poseidon and Athena wished to be the patron deity of the city of Athens. In order to decide which god would be the patron of the great city, they agreed to each give the Athenians a gift and have them decide which gift they preferred. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a spring erupted. However, the water of the spring was saltwater and was of no use to the Athenians. Athena gave the city an olive tree, which was the preferred gift; thus, Athena became the patron goddess of Athens. Walls of Troy After offending Zeus, Poseidon and Apollo were stripped of their divinity and had to serve the Trojan King Laomedon. Laomedon had the gods build walls around the city with promises of rewards. Once the walls were built, Laomedon did not reward the two gods, which Poseidon punished by sending the Trojan cetus to attack the city. Trojan War During the Trojan War, Poseidon sided with the Greeks against the Trojans. At one point during the war, Poseidon rescued Aeneas. At one point, however, Poseidon becomes annoyed with Hera as she causes a Trojan ship to be struck with storms and since the sea and storms are Poseidon's domain. In repentance, Poseidon helps the Trojan ship reach its destination. Odysseus After Odysseus blinded Poseidon's son Polyphemus, Poseidon caused Odysseus' ship to be blown off course, preventing him from returning to Ithaca for many years. Affairs Demeter When Poseidon tried to seduce Demeter, she spurned his advances and transformed herself into a horse to hide from him. However, this disguise did not trick Poseidon and he transformed into a horse as well and had sex with her. Their offpsring was Arion, the horse who could speak like a human, and Despoena. Medusa Medusa was a beautiful woman who was raped by Poseidon on the floor of a temple sacred to Athena. As punishment for this, Athena turned Medusa into the hideous monster who turns anyone who looks at her to stone. After Medusa was decapitated by Perseus, Pegasus and Chrysaor erupted from her neck. Tyro Poseidon had an affair with a mortal woman named Tyro. Tyro was married to Cretheus but was in love with the river god Enipeus. However, Enipeus did not love Tyro back so Poseidon, filled with lust for Tyro, disguised himself as Enipeus and had sex with Tyro, fathering his twin sons Pelias and Neleus. Alope Poseidon also had an affair with Alope, his granddaughter through Cercyon. After realizing what Alope had done, Cercyon had her buried alive but Poseidon transformed her into a spring. Amymone After Hera became the patron goddess of Argos over Poseidon, he caused a drought to dry up all the springs in the region. Danaus then sent out his fifty daughters in search of a way to end the drought. As Amymone was searching, she was attacked by a satyr. Poseidon rescued her and had sex with her, impregnating her with her son Nauplius. Cleito Poseidon also consorted with Cleito, a woman who lived alone on an island. With her, he had five sets of twins: Ampheres, Atlas, Autochthon, Azaes, Diaprepes, Elasippus, Euaemon, Eumelus, Mestor, and Mneseus. Male lovers Poseidon also had three male lovers, namely Nerites, Pelops, and Patroclus. Family Despite being married to Amphitrite, Poseidon had many affairs and children with other women, including: Epithets *''Asphaleios'' ("safety") as protector from earthquakes *''Enosichthon'' ("earth-shaker") *''Epoptis'' ("supervisor") *''Helikonios'' (Greek: Ελικώνιος) *''Pelagios'' *''Petraios'' (Greek: Πετραίος, "rocks") *''Phykios'' (Greek: Φύκιος, "seaweeds") *''Phytalmios'' (Greek: Φυτάλμιος "vegetation") *''Tavreios'' (Greek: Ταύρειος Category:Greek mythology Category:Greek deities Category:Greek gods